The PGA of Holland’s strong team ethic and coolness under pressure proved key components in the 2019 International Team Championship [ITC], as they claimed a four-shot victory of -13 at Penina Hotel & Golf Resort in Portugal’s Algarve region.
At the start of the day only one stroke separated professionals Ralph Miller, Mark Reynolds and Ruben Wechgelaer from their nearest rivals – the PGA of Italy. However, they put the experience of coming up short in last year’s tournament to good use, as they accompanied a strong game plan with composure to comfortably move clear in the final round seeing them take a victory on the Algarve – the location of their last ITC win in 2013.
“Winning is always a great feeling but claiming the International Team Championship – one could say the inaugural version in the Confederation of Professional Golf era – makes this one even better,” said PGA of Holland Captain and Board Member, Ralph Miller.
Mark Reynolds, who has been in rich form all season, commented: “We were unfortunate to come up short last year but we do have a great team that always believed it had enough to win, so thankfully we managed to get over the line this time.”
Ruben Wechgelaer, the final member of the team, gave his thoughts on the week as a whole: “The facilities here at Penina have been fantastic all week. The course was immaculate but challenging and we have had a great time here in Portugal.”
A tie for second place saw the PGA of Belgium’s Didier Dykmans [Captain], Nicolas Vanhootegem and Guillaume Watremez finish alongside the PGA of Italy’s Gregory Molteni [Captain], Mauro Bianco & Andrea Rota sharing a nine-under par total.
In the International Team Championship Team Shield, a competition held within the ITC for CPG Member Country PGAs with less than 100 members, it was the PGA of Slovakia who came out on top for the first time in their history.
“This win has written a piece of history for us and golf in Slovakia, as we have been competing [in the International Team Championship] for years, but this is the first time we have managed to win the Team Shield – it creates a strong foundation to build upon in the future” said Juraj Zvarik.
The title seemed poised to be a two-horse race between the PGA of Poland and the PGA of Greece, only for Slovakia – with Professionals Juraj Zvarik [Captain], Martin Tavoda and Peter Svajlen – to put together a sensational final score of 141 (five-under par) and overtake both for victory, finishing at four-over in total.
For more details of the Annual Congress, including programme schedule, speakers and award winners, visit https://cp.golf/2019AnnualCongress.
For more information on the ITC visit https://cp.golf/2019ITC.
Full Final Scores Available at cp.golf/2019ITC
For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page https://cp.golf/2019ITC. For more information on the CPG visit cpg.golf, or find the CPG on Twitter (@cpg_golf), Facebook (@cpg.golf), LinkedIn, Instagram (@cpg_golf) and Anchor.fm.
For more information on Penina Hotel & Golf Resort visit penina.com.
